A wastewater sample in Taupō has detected Covid-19 and a further sample is currently being analysed.
The Ministry of Health announced today that a sample collected on 8 November detected the virus, while a sample collected on 10 November is under investigation.
Photo: 123RF
"A positive wastewater test can sometimes result from an historical case who may continue to shed fragments of the virus for some weeks after their illness - even if they are not infectious," a ministry statement said.
The Ministry of Health has urged anyone in the area who may have symptoms to get tested, even if they are vaccinated.
"At this stage, there are no other new, unexpected wastewater results to report," the statement added.
Meanwhile, Covid-19 was not detected in samples collected in Gisborne and Napier on 10 November. It follows no detections in these areas from samples taken on 8 November.
There have been signs the virus is slowly creeping into the regions, with cases in Northland, Waikato, Stratford and Taranaki.
This morning, Taranaki DHB medical officer of health Dr Jonathan Jarman told RNZ six people who tested positive for Covid-19 in Taranaki had been reluctant to get tested and had not used the tracer app.
At this afternoon's briefing - where it was revealed there were 201 new community cases - Robertson revealed that one person had travelled to Auckland to pick up another family member and took them back to Taranaki to live with them. He said one of the six positive cases was vaccinated.